‘Difficult’ to keep small nursing homes going

HEALTH MINISTER James Reilly said it was going to be “very difficult” to keep community nursing homes with fewer than 50 residents open.

He told the Oireachtas Health Committee yesterday there was “tremendous pressure” on these smaller nursing homes from a financial point of view, adding that he had already “made it clear that some were going to have to close”.

But Dr Reilly said there would be no question of any repeat of the situation in Abbeyleix, where elderly residents were suddenly told their home was to close.